The Last Time
by altura9
Summary: AU of one of DD's bad endings. Simon and Athena are allowed one last night together before it's all over.


He groans softly as he enters her for what he knows might be the last time, and to his shock, tears begin to slide down her cheeks.

Startled by her reaction, Simon feels a jolt of panic. He quickly bends down to kiss the tears off her face, and Athena reaches up to pull him even closer to her. Her fingers dig into his back as if someone else is trying to pull him away.

"D-don't...don't leave me, Simon," she practically sobs. "God, don't leave me."

"I'm here, Athena," he whispers. "I'm not going anywhere. What is wrong?"

She gulps and releases him, shifting under his body and causing him to move with her. "Your voice just now...every noise you make...you're terrified about tomorrow." A few quiet cries escape her as she searches his face, desperate for a response, desperate to be proven wrong.

He hesitates, his heart thumping somewhat uneasily in his chest. This is the absolute last thing he wants to talk about right now, especially since the prison administrators have only allowed them a few hours to be together. A conjugal trailer is hardly the most romantic of atmospheres, but neither of them had complained, because this is the last night they will have - ever.

The worst possible scenario had come to pass. Despite the valiant efforts of their friends, Simon Blackquill will face execution tomorrow. There is nothing they can do about it now except try to enjoy this last bit of time granted to them, and if they spend it all worrying about what the next day will bring, this brief respite will have been for naught.

Simon hushes her sobs with a finger to her mouth, gathering himself to speak as steadily as he can. "I will accept my fate with grace. You needn't worry. All I care about - and all I want right now - is you and you alone. Can you please trust me?"

She studies him carefully, and then slowly, ever so slowly, she nods and grants him a small smile. To his relief, she seems to trust his heart's voice this time.

He smiles in return, and slides back down into her wetness. Their movements soon become slow and purposeful. He rocks into her, and she seems to respond automatically to his gyrations, syncing her body up to his. He loses himself in the scent of her, and for a while he does not think of anything but how good she feels wrapped around him.

Athena is his whole world in these short yet somehow endless moments. Their naked bodies seem made for one another, and they shift through a variety of positions with ease. Now he is on top of her, now she is riding him, now they are laying side by side as he thrusts into her slowly and gently. Simon listens to her gasps to gauge what feels best for her, and when he finds her sweet spot deep inside, he begins to angle his thrusts in that direction while urgently rubbing her swollen clitoris.

Athena's walls contract around him as she nears her climax, causing him to drive himself ever deeper into her, hands clutching desperately at her body. They both reach their peaks nearly simultaneously, and when they have fallen into a tangled heap, Simon twists around to cradle Athena in his arms. She is flushed and beautiful, breast heaving as she comes down from her own high. For just a moment, she is smiling radiantly at him.

"I love you," Simon murmurs to her. He says the words with as much adoration as he can muster, running a hand through her bright orange hair. He relishes the feel of it in his fingers. But he must have lost that confidence he had expressed while speaking before, because Athena seems to hear something else in those words.

"I love you too," Athena says softly, and - damn it all - he can tell she is crying again, even through her smile. "But your heart is still aching. It's shrieking in fear, and I...I can't bear it, Simon."

Simon pauses. "N-no, I'm fine. Truly." He knows his stammer has betrayed him, but he soldiers on anyway. "Let us not speak of it. Tonight is all that matters - I am not afraid of what is coming."

She knows he is lying - she must know - but that seems to calm her for a bit. After lying still for a few moments, Simon feels his desire stir again, and he makes to touch Athena between the legs. At first she hesitates, but then she relaxes and lets him continue until her core is slick and wet. Simon moves to position himself over her, lining up so that his tip brushes her opening, and she gives a tiny shiver at the touch.

Simon moans as her shiver sends an electrical jolt through his length, but this only causes Athena to lose her composure once again. She must still hear his barely hidden terror, even in his gasps of pleasure. She reaches up to clutch him to her ever tighter, burying her head in his hair and weeping. He cannot help it - her sadness is too much, and he feels tears of his own escape his eyes to trickle down onto her chest.

But no - he does not want to cry, he wants this to be perfect - Athena is the only good thing left to him on this last night, and he will do his best not to waste it. He swallows the rest of his tears down and brushes his member against her again in an invitation to continue. She smiles weakly and obliges for a while, but each word, moan, and sigh he utters only serves to drive Athena further into distress.

Eventually, she begins to sob so hard that they are forced to stop. After he pulls out, Athena falls across Simon's chest and cries until it seems there could not possibly be any tears left in her. He strokes her hair as she tries in vain to shed her grief, wishing he could say something to assuage her fears.

The truth is, of course, that he is terrified too. And now she knows that truth as well, having heard it in his voice as they made love. It is the last thing he wants - to hurt the one he cares about most with the crushing terror that tomorrow brings.

Simon tries to make it better with a kiss to her forehead. "Let us just rest together for a while, hm?" Athena nods in agreement, drying her eyes as best she can. For a while, at least, she is not sad for his sake. They cling together, drinking in each other's essence, and Simon tries desperately to remember exactly how she feels in his arms.

They lay in silence until their allotted visiting time runs out. Athena disentangles herself from Simon, and it feels like part of his soul is being ripped to pieces as he watches her dress. Even worse, Simon can see Athena stifle a sob while she packs her things to go, and it is all he can do to hold back from begging her to stay the rest of the night - prison rules be damned. But that would only wound her more deeply, and he wants to do what is best for her in these trying final moments.

She comes back to the bed to give him one last desperate embrace goodbye, and as she does so, he takes the opportunity to whisper into her ear. Her earring tickles his neck as he moves close.

"Please, Athena. For my sake - don't come tomorrow."

Words seem to fail Athena. A short nod is her only response, and as his lips meet hers one last time, he tastes the tears on her skin.

* * *

The next day dawns bright and sunny, but Simon cannot keep shivers from wracking his body as the prison guard leads him out of his cell. The weak light that filters through the barred windows of the corridor does not afford him any warmth. It is no wonder - it is so early that some of last night's stars are still visible in the morning sky. They catch Simon's eye even from the narrow corridor, and they are like silent witnesses to his final meeting with Athena, proof that it was real. Somehow, this makes him feel a bit better as he marches to his death.

Unlike most hangings, his execution will take place outside. Theatrics are big in the dark age of the law, and the public loves a dramatic death, especially when the convict is as well-known as he is. He is not disappointed - when he is led through the door to the scaffolding, he sees that the prison yard is already teeming with gawkers.

He cannot help but scan the crowd as he walks by, taking in as many faces as he can in the time left to him. And even though he had told her not to come, even though he knew it would be better this way, it is like an arrow to the heart when he notes that Athena is not present. Instead, he catches the eyes of Aura, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, and Phoenix Wright in the front row of spectators. Each of their faces is alive with some form of agony - his sister weeps openly, Wright dabs at his eyes, and the Chief Prosecutor, stoic as he is, removes his glasses to prevent them from fogging up in his grief.

He had once sat in the front row himself to see prisoners put to death at these very gallows. In fact, a few prosecutors had even gone before him - Von Karma, Diego Armando. Now it is his turn.

Simon shakes as he walks up the steps to the hanging nooses, prodded from behind by the executioner. He hears a few titters from the crowd, and he realizes that his shaking must be visible from afar. It is funny to see the tall, imposing Prosecutor Blackquill quivering out of his skin at the prospect of his imminent execution, he supposes. Well, he will not give them that much satisfaction. He turns to face the crowd with as much courage as he can muster.

"Simon Blackquill, you have been sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of Dr. Metis Cykes," says the executioner, as woodenly as if he were reading out lines from a script. "Do you still contend, as you did the day you were arrested, that you planned the deed ahead of time, and that you killed her as she lay defenseless?"

Simon knows this is all part of the show. Before an execution, prisoners are often reminded of their crimes and given a chance to repent. Some do, and they cry with remorse as the noose tightens around their necks. More often than not, though, the convict spits out a sarcastic or biting response to the executioner before meeting their death.

Simon replies just as the crowd wants - and expects. There is no need to drop the charade now, not when the public has seen him as a ruthless murderer for seven years, and not when he will be dead in mere seconds. "I do indeed contend the same, and I meant it with all of my being." When he speaks, however, he is thinking of Athena, and how deeply he had felt the words when he had told her he loved her.

The spectators let out a simultaneous gasp of amazement at the prosecutor's audacity. They will be glad to see him go - only an evil man beyond redemption would say such a thing so brazenly. Those who know the truth, however - the few sitting in the front row - bow their heads in devastated acceptance of what they are about to witness.

At least he will not have to see Athena bow her head for the last time. He will go to his death with joyous thoughts of their bodies tangled together and the taste of her on his tongue.

Athena is his armor, his last bit of warmth in these final bleak seconds of life. Even though she is not there, he feels her spirit envelop him, and it is calming somehow. The executioner guides him under one of the nooses, and he does not flinch as it is lowered over his head. Her brilliant smile fills his mind, the touch of her skin permeates his senses. He does not even hear the executioner give one last shout to the crowd advising the weak of heart to avert their eyes, so lost is he in memories of the night before.

All too quickly, the executioner moves to the side and pulls a lever. The ground drops away from beneath Simon, and just before the rope breaks his fall with a deadly jerk, he looks up to the still-starry sky and thinks of the crescent earring caressing his neck.


End file.
